September 26, 2025 • 33 mins
Tune in here to this Friday's edition of Breaking With Brett Jensen!
Breaking Brett Jensen kicks the show off by talking about the shocking state of Lake Lure, North Carolina, and the extensive recovery efforts still underway nearly a year after Hurricane Helene. Broadcasting live from Black Mountain, NC, Brett describes how the lake has been intentionally drained 28 feet — the lowest in its history — to remove over a million tons of debris.
Jensen interviews Lake Lure Town Manager Olivia Stewman, who shares that while the water is testing normal, the lake was rendered unusable without the cleanup. She estimates full restoration by May 2026. Brett then travels through Chimney Rock and Bat Cave, noting the ongoing devastation and slow rebuilding efforts.
Jensen is joined by longtime Broad River resident Bo Reising to discuss the ongoing struggles facing the community nearly a year after Hurricane HelenJensen sits down with Reising on his front porch to reflect on the slow recovery process. Reising speaks candidly about the emotional and financial toll the storm has taken -- from losing hay fields and reliable roads to watching neighbors, including his niece, struggle to rebuild their lives. He also details the fading presence of state and federal aid and the overwhelming burden placed on local residents. Despite it all, Reising remains committed to helping his community
Jensen is also joined by Richard, a 15-year veteran of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department, to discuss the lasting impact of Hurricane Helene on first responders and their community one year later.Richard reflects on how the storm strengthened community bonds, with neighbors stepping up to help one another in true mountain fashion.
He also highlights the critical equipment donations they’ve received, including a brush truck from the Charlotte Fire Department and a fire engine from upstate New York, which helped replace vehicles lost in the flood. As they prepare to reopen a rebuilt community center on the anniversary of the storm, Richard urges people outside the region not to forget the mountains—they still need help.
Listen here for all of this and more on Breaking With Brett Jensen.
To be the first to hear about Breaking Brett Jensen's exclusives and more follow him on X @Brett_Jensen!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen coming to you from the Mountains on Breaking with
Brett Jensen on this Friday night, seven oh four five,
seven oh eleven ten. Guys, make sure you follow me
on except Brett to Underscore Jensen for all the latest
and breaking news in and around the Charlotte area. And
you should be following me on X because I'm gonna
(00:20):
be posting a lot of stuff on there, like I've
got a lot of photos. I went to all the
exact same locations that I went to last year, including
some new ones this year. And I started this morning
in Lake Lore, and I went up to the exact
same place, the exact same house, the exact same dock
that I went to last year and where I took
(00:41):
those like really famous photos of me standing in front
of the lake when it was nothing but wood like
wood and debris in the lake and it looked like
you could literally walk across the lake because there was
nothing but debris there. And so I went to the
exact same place and I was absolutely stunned at what
I saw lake. And when I say there is no lake,
(01:03):
I mean there is no lake. The lake is down
twenty eight feet twenty eight feet, and they're doing that
on purpose because of all the sediment from Chimney Rock
and all these other townels that formed and pulled into
Lake Lore, so they basically had to block it off.
And they've got all these backos in there, dredging, doing
(01:26):
all kinds of stuff to try and like save the lake.
And I was told that had they not done that,
the lake would not have been used. You couldn't use
it. It was nasty, it was failthy, all these chemicals, all
the pollution, everything was in it because of what happened
with the hurricane and pushing all that debris into Lake
(01:47):
Lore from like Chimney Rock and other places, so.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There is no lake.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And I wore the exact same hat, the exact same shirt,
standing at the exact same spot where I took photos,
and you will see a before and after photo and
meaning like immediately after the hurricanes, like three days after
the hurricane, to where we are now three hundred and
fifty one days after the hurricane, or excuse me, three
(02:13):
hundred and fifty I guess three hundred and fifty five
days after the hurricane, because tomorrow is the one year
anniversary of Hurricane Helene, but purely by coincidence. When I
went to the house and stand on the back deck
just like I did in the dog like I did
again almost exactly a year ago, purely by coincidence, the
(02:34):
town manager of Lake Lore, Olivia Steuman, she was there
with somebody else and I just started talking to them
and we started having a conversation, and then I found
out she's the town.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Manager of Lake Lore. So I wanted to.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I had said, Olivia, can I ask you a couple
of questions like for the show, because I want to.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I want to ask you to because I was again,
there is no lake. It's down twenty eight feet.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The lake was formed like in nineteen twenty six when
they built and that's what helped formed it. And it's
the lowest in the history of the lake. It's never
been emptied before. The lake is empty, and it's completely empty.
So I wanted to ask Lake Lord town manager Olivia
Stuman some questions about the lake and what it's going
to be coming back. Are you surprised that it's taken
(03:19):
this long? We're a year later and the lake is
nowhere near to being complete.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think it's been a monumental task. I think there's
not been many waterway to Breathe tasks from FEMA that
have been this larger scale, so I'm not shocked. I
think it's been. They removed over a million tons of
sediment from the lake alone, so I think they've been
pretty successful. It's just such a large project that it's
(03:44):
going to take some time.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Explain why they had to remove the sediment, Was it
toxic or what was the reasoning behind to try to
clear the bottom of the lake.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
The lake would have not been usable had the sedimentation
remain there, no one would have been able to access it.
We do continue to do water testing and the levels
are coming back normal, so we don't think that toxicity
is a big issue at this point.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And I guess the last question is how long do
you think it is timetable wise? And I know everything changes,
but are we talking another year? We're talking six months?
What do you think the timetable is before it looks
at my normal again?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So it is a moving target. The last that Army
Corps has notified us is their goal is to be
completed by October thirty first. At that point, the town
will begin bringing the lake up. There's a couple of
projects that we have that we'll need to keep it
at about twelve feet below full pond. But our ultimate goal,
if that timeline stays on track, is to have the
(04:38):
lake at full pond around May of next year.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So that is Olivia's tub and the town manager of
Lake Lore just giving me, you know, a quick ninety seconds.
I just wanted to ask her about the lake. I was,
I'm telling you, absolutely stunned. So then I left Lake Lore.
And when I left Lake Lore, I drove through chimney Rock.
You can now get into chimney Rock. That's not a problem.
You can go there. Some of the towns are or
excuse me, some of the stores is still trying to
(05:02):
come back a little bit. And there are people there.
There are like on main Street there, or what I
call main Street. I don't know if that's what it's called,
but that's what I call it. But on the main
road that goes through chimney Rock, the town, the village,
there are stores and people are open and there were
a lot of you know, there were people parked and
enjoying lunch and whatever. Because this was all around noon.
(05:23):
And then I was able to drive behind the barriers
because the road is closed between Chimney Rock and bat Cave.
But I was able to drive behind the barriers and
go through the roads, and I can tell you bat
Cave is still extremely decimated.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Like it doesn't look much different than it did.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I mean, yes, they've cleaned up the streets and you
can drive through and stuff like that, but there's still
a lot, a lot, a lot of damage there, and
there's still a way aways from not only building up
bat Cave, but the roads. They have all these makeshift
temporary roads that you have to do, like little tiny
one lane bridges so you can get from point A
to point B. So again it is a lot to do.
(06:06):
So I'm driving through all these closed roads from Chimney
Rock to bat Cave and then through bat Cave. I
went up Route nine and heading back towards all the
places that I went through last year and did my
show from last year in the Broad River area, And
when we come back, you're gonna hear some of my
interviews with the people that live in there, including Bow Rising.
(06:27):
Now Bo is the gentleman that I did my show
from his front yard last year via starlink, and he's
the place that had the makeshift convenience store, even though
everything was completely free, it was like about the side,
like I had more things there than most convenience stores do,
Like that's not even a joke.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
And so and I said that last year, and.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I was going through with a lot of the old
photos from last year in the videos, and it was
amazing of everything they had. Well, I was able to
go to Bow Rising and talk to him, and I
also went back by the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department
and had a great chat with them and again and
they took me around some spots and showed me some things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
And so it was.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It was a fantastic day of saying how much has
been done, but almost all exactly how little has been done.
Like it's both like oh yeah, compared to what it
was last year, a lot has been done, but it
is nowhere near what you think should be done after
a year. So we're gonna hear from people from the
Volunteer Fire Department there as well as what's going on
(07:29):
with our guy bow Rising. So my name is Brett Jensen,
and I'm coming to you live from Black Mountain, North Carolina,
and we're gonna swing on over to the WBT Traffic
Center with Pam Warner News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
nine three WBT. Brett Jensen coming to you from Black Mountain,
North Carolina, which is just north of the Broad River area.
(07:51):
You can take Route nine into the Broad River in
the back cave, into Chimney Rock and then into Lake Lore.
While I'm in Black Mountain coming to you live and
i will tell you we are one day away from
the one year anniversary of Hurricane Queen.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And what is going on right now?
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Well, I've had to move inside my car because it
is an absolute torrential downpour. It is absolutely pouring. The
skies are pitch black, and you know, look, it is
really raining hard, really really raining hard. And it almost
seems fitting or apropos because it is raining hard considering
(08:26):
what happened exactly three hundred and fifty four days ago. Okay,
so earlier this afternoon I went by Bou Rising's house.
Bou Rising is the man, the fine gentleman and his
family that welcomed me into their home and their hearts
last year by letting me do my live two hour
show from the front yard. And they had all these people,
remember forty fifty people showed up, including Miss Ruby, the
(08:49):
ninety two year old that walked about a third of
a mile to be with us. And again, this was
a special man who let me do a lot of
things in terms of my shows and interviewing people from
his front yard. And I saw him kick other media
outlets out well. I was able to catch up with
him earlier today sitting on his front porch reminiscing about
a year ago. And then everything that's happened over the
(09:10):
last twelve months, Bow Rising.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I did my show from.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Your front yard last year October, in the middle of October.
It was the first night that temperatures had gotten below
forty degrees and half the people that were still here
of the fifty people still didn't have electricity. You had
just gotten your electricity that day or the day before.
So now here we are twelve months later. What has
the last twelve months been? Like?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Have people forgotten about you? People still coming around? Like?
What have the last twelve months been like?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
The last twelve months have went really slow. Ever since
springtime come and the leaves started coming out and the
grass started coming out and hiding everything, It's like, okay,
everything's all right. But it really isn't all right, and
have slowed down, and the help there's there's not much help,
(10:07):
and we're just doing the best we can and we're
just taking one day at a time and trying to
work and clean up. And it's very depressing, to tell
you the truth.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
So but.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I keep battling and trying to clean up around here.
And I've got the front yard straightened up, and it
looks like some civilizations back around here. And we did
have the river crew showed up and they cleaned the
river and they've done an excellent job. There was about
twelve of them guys, and they were from up around Minnesota,
(10:49):
and they brought big, old equipment and they went in
and out of the river cleaning up and doing all
the debris work. And they've really done a good job.
But they're still working on the roads. They're in terrible
shape that it seems like there's just not enough help
(11:10):
to do anything. And I also lost I have a
forty head of cattle, and I also lost forty acres
of my hay fields. And I've went through the state
filling out all kinds of applications and stuff, and it's
been a slow process that don't seem like there's much
(11:32):
help out there to help.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Us and stuff, and we're.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
You know, they estimated one of my fields would cost
sixty thousand dollars just to redo it, and I don't
have that kind of income to do nothing. So I've
lost all them fields. And I'm still trying to depend
on people to bring me a little bit of hair
or I'm trying to buy hay also too, so I'm
(12:00):
kind of in a pickle at that situation too.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I remember, you know, your niece, her up in the
backyard or the backside of our house just completely vanished,
including the bedroom of her daughter. And I remember speaking
of them and going into the house last year and
getting a tour of it.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
How are they doing right now?
Speaker 4 (12:17):
They're going day by day and they've had.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
A hard time.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They've they're in their third rental house and the only
good thing is that they're right down on going down
the road here. We got a few more acres down
the road and she's trying to rebuild her a new
house and they've started on that just a couple of
months ago, and it's a slow process. And as you know,
(12:42):
money doesn't grow on trees, and it's just overwhelming to
everybody what's happened.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So let's go to the roads.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're not the only person to tell me that the
roads situation is here is still pretty bad. Like we're
on Route nine, which is the major road in this
area between Back Cave and Black Mountain stuff, but yet
there's still single lanes and here we are a year later.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Or have you spoken to people on why it's been
so slow trying to rebuild these roads.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
My theory on the road situation is we've got like
four different spots that they've been working on, but I
just don't believe we've got the labor force to work
on it. There's two thirds at a time, there's nobody
even there working and the progress has just been slow.
(13:32):
These companies there from out of town, and I believe
they get a contract on it and just get their
hands into it and start getting the money. And nobody's
out here overseeing what's being done. And it's a shame
because we've got red lights that we've got to stop
and sit at. And this has been going on for
(13:54):
eight months and it just gets old to see nobody
out there working on our on our state, state roads
and stuff, and I just, you know, I don't know
why the state can't get no help. There's got to
be some companies out of state that will come in
here with people and help us out to get away
(14:16):
from this situation. We've we've had several weeks of rain
and there's been different slides still, and there's also trees
still sliding off every now and then, and our power
there'll be a tree fall at least once a week,
and our power will be off anywhere from two to
(14:38):
seven hours. And it's nobody's fault, it's just nature. But
the ground is still sopping wet, and across from where
I live there we had another slide over there again
and we had ten trees slide down off the side
of the mountain. And it's not over and it's not done.
And so that's that's the situation where still in.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Last year, you had in your front yard, which is
what made me stop and talk to you in the
very first place. I kept calling it like a convenience store.
You had baking powder and baking so the things you
would never think were out.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
There were out there. How long did you keep that
out there?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
We were open for approximately like a month, and I
want to also say I want to thank all the
people from around the United States, the individuals that come
out and helped us and gave us supplies gas pro
pain food, and we.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Passed it out to everybody.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
In our community and it really went a long ways,
and I sure do appreciate it, and the community does too.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
So the second part of my interview with bow Rising
will be coming up shortly, and you can tell there
are a couple of times where he gets emotional. You know,
he's in his seventies and you know, look, he's a
super nice, generous man, and he was worried about the
community and he's lived in that area, in that house
since like since the early nineteen seventies, and just again
(16:07):
a special human being. And I was again fortunate enough
to be able to, you know, befriend him and talk
to him and everything else.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
And so again it's.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Been it was a difficult day coming back and going
to all the places that I went to a year
ago to see that while some has changed, not enough
has changed. So when we return, you'll hear more of
my interview with bow Rising, and it does get a
little bit of emotional for him. And then also coming
up shortly, You're going to have my interviews with a
member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department and how
(16:38):
things have been going on with them over the last year,
and the fact that somebody roads is still damaged. How
difficult does that make it to actually be a fireman.
So all that coming up when we return, But right now,
let's ring on over to the WBT newsroom with Anna Erickson.
Welcome back to the breaking of Brett Jensen's show here
on this Friday night, coming to you live from Black Mountain,
North Carolina, in the middle of a very hard rainstorm,
(17:00):
exactly three hundred and fifty four days to the day
when Hurricane Helene came through the mountains and just ravaged
so much of western North Carolina. I believe it was
twenty five counties that were under a state of emergency.
In twenty five counties, that's exactly twenty five percent of
North Carolina, because there are one hundred counties in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So we're gonna continue my interview with bow Rising. Now.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Bo is the gentleman that allowed me to use his
front yard last year when we did the town hall,
the two hour live show from the Broad River area
of North Carolina right there on Route nine heading south
from Black Mountain into bat Cave. And as you know,
bat Cave, Chimney Rock, Lake Lore, and this area, the
Broad River area were completely devastated by the hurricane. Mud
(17:48):
slides and flooding and everything else. So we're going to
continue my interview with bow Rising to check in with
him one year later to see how things have been going.
And again he got a little emotional in the first part.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
He gets emotional in the second part as well. Are
you surprised that it's taking this long or did you know?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I mean, obviously you were here every day and you
saw the destruction and you lived through the destruction when
it was happening. But are you surprised it's still taking
this long because people who don't live here, I think
it just surprises us that it's still in pretty bad shape.
In a lot of areas, it does surprise me. And
I know we've had a disaster which nobody has never
(18:27):
been through like this, and it's just heartbreaking. And to
go down the road I lived just six miles from
back Cave, and it looks like the day the storm hit.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
One year later, it is so depressed and the.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Roads of Torah potholes all over, and to me, it
takes you forty minutes longer to go to town and where
the roads are in such terrible shape, truck is going
to be a piece of junk by the time they
get the roads fixed. So I'll everybody around here need
(19:05):
a new vehicle, you know, and the stuff you just
don't think about.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So I'm talking to you one day before the one
year anniversary. Tomorrow's the one year anniversary is Saturday. I
know the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department they're having a
big thing together and they're opening up the new community
center and everything else like that, Are you going to
do anything or are you going to just stay by
yourself with your family? Are you going to you know what,
I'm just gonna drink a beer or I'm gonna make
(19:32):
a cookout, Like like, what will you do if anything
on the one year anniversary of the moment your life changed?
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Well, in one sense, it's very depressing. Right now, I'm single,
and as Brett sits out here with me, it is
very quiet, and tomorrow is almost like another day. But
I will go down to the fire department in the
community center and see the community people and uh, you know,
(20:04):
and we'll and we'll cry. I'm crying now, and it
just it's just hard. And I'm retired. I don't need
to go to town and I'm around here all the
time and I've lived here sixty years. But I'm going
down there to see my neighbors and and we'll celebrate.
(20:26):
I call it the Hell of herlen Helene, but they
can call it whatever they want, but it's not a party.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Well, both, seriously, thank you for letting me join you
again today.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I really do appreciate this, and also things for last year.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
This was like a little hub and I really enjoyed it.
But it was a bad situation. But I knew I
could help people and it made me feel good.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
But we are in a devastated areas as it is
is right now.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
But I know there's stuff that needs to be done,
but it's hard to reach to people and have it done.
And like me, I'm coming up on seventy years old
and I want to do stuff, but I just physically
can't do it. And you can't find no help to
help you anymore like it used to be. It's just
(21:24):
it's just tough and it's like This morning, I was
helping a neighbor of mine putting some steel posts and
mixing concrete, and I felt like he's ninety years old
and I'm almost seventy, and we're out here busting our
butts and we don't have no young people to help us.
And I've got work down there my river, and it
(21:48):
just makes me sick to look at it. But I'm
physically not able, and I'm just an average person. I'm
not wealthy. We're not suited for the hurricane, for what
damage it has done to all the people around and
people that have lost property. And if you ever know
(22:09):
what landlocked means, come out and have a river and
your bridge be gone, and your properties on the other
side of that river and you don't have no bridge,
you will find out.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
What landlocked means.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
And there's three bridges within an eighthro mi all of
my house that are gone, and these people are still
having a hard time trying to get a bridge put in.
And it's just a bad situation. And you know, we're
not wealthy people, you know, if they want like a
quarter of a million dollars to put a bridge in,
and everybody's having a hard.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Time, so that is bud rising.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
And again I'm coming to you from my car because
when I say it is like a torrential downpour, it
is a torrential downpour. Like you can hear it as
I'm coming to your life, Like listen to this, like
I'm not joking, Like that's the rain hitting the roof
because it is raining so hard right now. And I
(23:09):
plan on going to the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department
there it's a celebration, but a commemoration like the grand
reopening of their community center which got completely destroyed last year,
which sits right beside the Broad River Fire Volunteer Fire Department,
and so many things like you know, they lost engines
and they had all kinds of damage.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
And again it's.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
They invited me to be to take part of their
their gathering tomorrow. And again these are people that are
just extremely nice and they're happy and grateful that anyone
is still shining a light on them. And as somebody
was telling me earlier today, you know, look, they were here,
everyone was here, and then they just sort of forgot
(23:51):
about us, you know, after a few months, and it
was sort of like.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Nine to eleven.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Everyone was together for nine to eleven and then you know, five, six,
seven months down the road, everyone went back to the
norm of lives and that's exactly what happened here. But
they still don't have a normal light. Everything is still
like the roads and everything. And they're talking. You heard
bo talk about the power. How the power constantly goes
out because trees are still sliding down the side of
(24:15):
mountains taking out power lines and whatnot or damaging or
like blocking roadways and stuff, and so they have to
wait until that happens.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
So it's just things are still not very good up here.
But what about the first responders? The roads?
Speaker 1 (24:31):
The roads are still single lane, and not all of them,
but some of them. Some of the roads are still out.
The bridges are.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Still out in some places.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
So how is it being a first responder trying to
get to these people when so many of the roads
are still damaged. So we're going to talk to a
member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department when we return.
My name is Brett Jensen, coming to you live from
Black Mountain. Now let's swing on over to the WT
Traffic Center. Welcome back to Breaking with Brett Jensen. As
(24:59):
I I come to you live from Black Mountain, North Carolina,
where an absolute downpour is in the midst of happening
as I'm coming to you from my car actually in
a parking lot at an abandoned grocery store that has
been not in use for many years, way before Hurricane Helen,
so earlier today when the weather was still good, and
(25:21):
I made my way from Lake Lore through Chimney Rock,
got to go behind the closed roads into bat Cave
and then up Route nine Route nine up and towards
the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department, and I went to
the same place I went a year ago and talked
to some of the people there, and Richard was one
of the volunteer firemen who couldn't have been nicer, and
so I was able to ask him a couple of
(25:43):
questions on what's it like trying to be a first
responder over the last three hundred and sixty four days.
Sir Richard, you've been with the Broad River Volunteer Fire
Department for fifteen years now, how would you classify the
last twelve months?
Speaker 6 (26:00):
My opinion, the community out here, it's never been bad,
so to speak, but just from what I've gathered in
the last last twelve months after Helene, it's actually got
better with our neighbors and our community Broad River.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
What do you mean better? What do you mean by that?
Speaker 6 (26:16):
More of the old fashioned, true back back home country
of you know, neighbors speaking to each other, you know,
stopping asking if they need help, somebody seeing somebody that
you know needs firewood or whatever. Hey, I've got a
lott of firewood. It's yours people bringing in bringing in
(26:37):
lunch for their needy neighbors, or even us down here.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
At fire department. A lot of times are there still
needy people up here?
Speaker 6 (26:44):
There There are plenty of needs in the in the
county itself, and even in the western part of the state.
I don't think that a lot of them is getting
addressed like the way they should.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Okay, so you guys are volunteer firemen, and you guys
have to go around all the back roads and everything
else trying to get to houses in case there's something
going on.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It's not just fires.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
There's always a lot of things in terms of medic
or whatever. So how has the last twelve months been
trying to perform your duties with so many of the
roads still under construction or trying to be rebuilt.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
The roads most anybody, anybody around here, you will ask
the roads are horrible. It's almost like the work stopped
on them. Well, we you know it normally would take
us ten fifteen minutes to get from here to Black
Mountain to go on a fire mutual ad with them.
Now it's taking us, you know, over just twenty five
(27:43):
to thirty minutes, just because of one lane, roads, traffic lights,
equipment in a way, having to wait on somebody to
clear his path, whatever.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Has it.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Have you do you recall anything over the last twelve
months where there was a major emergency and it was
taking you much longer to get there just because of
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Being up here.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
I can't say yes or no up here because I
work part time here, so I'm not here on a
regular basis. But in other areas, I know that there
are places that they've had to go around a different
road and it's took an extra twenty thirty minutes to
get somewhere where they needed to be, or start somebody
from another side to get to it.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
So I remember it being here.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
A year ago, you guys had lost a truck completely
totaled because of the floodwaters and everything else. But you've
also had other fire departments reach out and help you.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Can you talk about that?
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Of course I let the chief talk more about that,
but because you know, it's more of the legal stuff.
But we did get a brush truck donation from the
City of Charlotte Fire Department replaced the truck that did
get totaled at least into it can be replaced. We've
got a couple of ATVs that was replaced through some
(29:09):
of the local organization's Hearts with Hands and Salvation Army
and places like that, or some Americans first excuse me,
we had an engine about a months two months after
the storm that we had a contact that just happened
to show us a picture of a truck and said, hey,
would you guys be in need of this truck? And
(29:30):
it turned out we was in in need of it
and was able to get a fairly newer model bumper
that could replace another engine that had had got some
damage in the storm as well.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
And that one did that one come from New York?
Is that the one that came from New York?
Speaker 6 (29:45):
It came from a small department outside of on the
outskirts of New York. I want to say it was
Margaretville or something of that nature. I don't know what
part of I think they said it was upstate New York.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
So Tomorrowmorrow being Saturday, the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helen,
you guys, well, it's not necessarily a celebration, but I
mean it's a commemoration.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You guys are acknowledging the day.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
But you guys also have a big thing going out
here tomorrow with the community center that was completely wiped out.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Again. I'll I'll let Chief Pinter speak on that. He's
put most of the leg work in all that stuff.
But the community center a year ago had just been
recently remodeled from issue that happened during the winter prior
to Helene. And then of course when the storm came
(30:40):
through and it it did, like you said, wiped everything
pretty much out of it and had to start back
from scratch. And as I have a week ago or
about a week ago, officially ready to go off and
go out and show the community again welcome back.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Is there anything that you want the people back in
Charlotte or Shelby or Hickory or Lincolnton that are listening
to this, Is there anything that you want them to know.
Speaker 6 (31:06):
Huh, well, I've heard I've heard a couple of other
people say it, you know, during the storm, during the
initial aftermath of it, is don't forget the mountains. I mean,
it kind of seems like, you know, just like nine
to eleven, it's everybody was, you know, support the mountains
for six eight months, and then here we are a
(31:29):
year later, and it's kind of like everybody's starting to
forget about it. And they're good, they're they're back on
their feet, but there's a lot of areas that still
do need help.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Richard, I appreciate time today by it not a problem.
So that is Richard.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
He's a member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department.
He's been there for fifteen years as a volunteer fireman.
And earlier today they were able to like they drove it.
They offered and the police chief brtent Hayner like could
not be nicer and extremely accommodating, and they offered to
take me places that I may have not seen previously
and went like, you know, up the side of a
(32:04):
mountain a little bit to take me some places there
as well, and where trailer park were like a trailer
not a trailer park, but a trailer was basically washed
into the river. And I'll have all kinds of photos
on my social media's about that. They were just super
super kind. Even fed me a barbecue sandwich on lunch today,
Like that's how generous these people are. It's absolutely ridiculous,
(32:25):
and a lot of people could learn a lot of
things from the people up here in the mountains between
you know, between Bow Rising and Andy Creaseman, and then
obviously the people over there at the Volunteer Fire Department.
It just just genuinely very nice, wholesome people and I
could not thank them more for them allow me to
be part of their community and disrupt their lives to
(32:47):
come in and talk to them about what happened a
year ago, and hopefully providing that the weather holds off,
because it is completely pouring right now, I will be
going back by the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department as
they commemorate or celebrate the reopening of their community center
which was destroyed last year, as well as they marked
the one year anniversary when all their lives got turned
upside down.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
So that's going to do it for me tonight.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Everyone, And again thanks to Isaac and everyone back in
the studio for making this possible.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
And again thanks to all the people.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Up here in the Broad River area as well as
the town manager over there in Lake lore So. Coming
to you from a very very rainy, rainy and stormy
Black Mountain. My name is Brett Jensen, and you have
been listening to Breaking with Brett Jensen
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen coming to you from the Mountains on Breaking with
Brett Jensen on this Friday night, seven oh four five,
seven oh eleven ten. Guys, make sure you follow me
on except Brett to Underscore Jensen for all the latest
and breaking news in and around the Charlotte area. And
you should be following me on X because I'm gonna
(00:20):
be posting a lot of stuff on there, like I've
got a lot of photos. I went to all the
exact same locations that I went to last year, including
some new ones this year. And I started this morning
in Lake Lore, and I went up to the exact
same place, the exact same house, the exact same dock
that I went to last year and where I took
(00:41):
those like really famous photos of me standing in front
of the lake when it was nothing but wood like
wood and debris in the lake and it looked like
you could literally walk across the lake because there was
nothing but debris there. And so I went to the
exact same place and I was absolutely stunned at what
I saw lake. And when I say there is no lake,
(01:03):
I mean there is no lake. The lake is down
twenty eight feet twenty eight feet, and they're doing that
on purpose because of all the sediment from Chimney Rock
and all these other townels that formed and pulled into
Lake Lore, so they basically had to block it off.
And they've got all these backos in there, dredging, doing
(01:26):
all kinds of stuff to try and like save the lake.
And I was told that had they not done that,
the lake would not have been used. You couldn't use
it. It was nasty, it was failthy, all these chemicals, all
the pollution, everything was in it because of what happened
with the hurricane and pushing all that debris into Lake
(01:47):
Lore from like Chimney Rock and other places, so.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There is no lake.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And I wore the exact same hat, the exact same shirt,
standing at the exact same spot where I took photos,
and you will see a before and after photo and
meaning like immediately after the hurricanes, like three days after
the hurricane, to where we are now three hundred and
fifty one days after the hurricane, or excuse me, three
(02:13):
hundred and fifty I guess three hundred and fifty five
days after the hurricane, because tomorrow is the one year
anniversary of Hurricane Helene, but purely by coincidence. When I
went to the house and stand on the back deck
just like I did in the dog like I did
again almost exactly a year ago, purely by coincidence, the
(02:34):
town manager of Lake Lore, Olivia Steuman, she was there
with somebody else and I just started talking to them
and we started having a conversation, and then I found
out she's the town.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Manager of Lake Lore. So I wanted to.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I had said, Olivia, can I ask you a couple
of questions like for the show, because I want to.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I want to ask you to because I was again,
there is no lake. It's down twenty eight feet.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The lake was formed like in nineteen twenty six when
they built and that's what helped formed it. And it's
the lowest in the history of the lake. It's never
been emptied before. The lake is empty, and it's completely empty.
So I wanted to ask Lake Lord town manager Olivia
Stuman some questions about the lake and what it's going
to be coming back. Are you surprised that it's taken
(03:19):
this long? We're a year later and the lake is
nowhere near to being complete.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think it's been a monumental task. I think there's
not been many waterway to Breathe tasks from FEMA that
have been this larger scale, so I'm not shocked. I
think it's been. They removed over a million tons of
sediment from the lake alone, so I think they've been
pretty successful. It's just such a large project that it's
(03:44):
going to take some time.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Explain why they had to remove the sediment, Was it
toxic or what was the reasoning behind to try to
clear the bottom of the lake.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
The lake would have not been usable had the sedimentation
remain there, no one would have been able to access it.
We do continue to do water testing and the levels
are coming back normal, so we don't think that toxicity
is a big issue at this point.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And I guess the last question is how long do
you think it is timetable wise? And I know everything changes,
but are we talking another year? We're talking six months?
What do you think the timetable is before it looks
at my normal again?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So it is a moving target. The last that Army
Corps has notified us is their goal is to be
completed by October thirty first. At that point, the town
will begin bringing the lake up. There's a couple of
projects that we have that we'll need to keep it
at about twelve feet below full pond. But our ultimate goal,
if that timeline stays on track, is to have the
(04:38):
lake at full pond around May of next year.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So that is Olivia's tub and the town manager of
Lake Lore just giving me, you know, a quick ninety seconds.
I just wanted to ask her about the lake. I was,
I'm telling you, absolutely stunned. So then I left Lake Lore.
And when I left Lake Lore, I drove through chimney Rock.
You can now get into chimney Rock. That's not a problem.
You can go there. Some of the towns are or
excuse me, some of the stores is still trying to
(05:02):
come back a little bit. And there are people there.
There are like on main Street there, or what I
call main Street. I don't know if that's what it's called,
but that's what I call it. But on the main
road that goes through chimney Rock, the town, the village,
there are stores and people are open and there were
a lot of you know, there were people parked and
enjoying lunch and whatever. Because this was all around noon.
(05:23):
And then I was able to drive behind the barriers
because the road is closed between Chimney Rock and bat Cave.
But I was able to drive behind the barriers and
go through the roads, and I can tell you bat
Cave is still extremely decimated.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Like it doesn't look much different than it did.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I mean, yes, they've cleaned up the streets and you
can drive through and stuff like that, but there's still
a lot, a lot, a lot of damage there, and
there's still a way aways from not only building up
bat Cave, but the roads. They have all these makeshift
temporary roads that you have to do, like little tiny
one lane bridges so you can get from point A
to point B. So again it is a lot to do.
(06:06):
So I'm driving through all these closed roads from Chimney
Rock to bat Cave and then through bat Cave. I
went up Route nine and heading back towards all the
places that I went through last year and did my
show from last year in the Broad River area, And
when we come back, you're gonna hear some of my
interviews with the people that live in there, including Bow Rising.
(06:27):
Now Bo is the gentleman that I did my show
from his front yard last year via starlink, and he's
the place that had the makeshift convenience store, even though
everything was completely free, it was like about the side,
like I had more things there than most convenience stores do,
Like that's not even a joke.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
And so and I said that last year, and.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I was going through with a lot of the old
photos from last year in the videos, and it was
amazing of everything they had. Well, I was able to
go to Bow Rising and talk to him, and I
also went back by the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department
and had a great chat with them and again and
they took me around some spots and showed me some things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
And so it was.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It was a fantastic day of saying how much has
been done, but almost all exactly how little has been done.
Like it's both like oh yeah, compared to what it
was last year, a lot has been done, but it
is nowhere near what you think should be done after
a year. So we're gonna hear from people from the
Volunteer Fire Department there as well as what's going on
(07:29):
with our guy bow Rising. So my name is Brett Jensen,
and I'm coming to you live from Black Mountain, North Carolina,
and we're gonna swing on over to the WBT Traffic
Center with Pam Warner News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
nine three WBT. Brett Jensen coming to you from Black Mountain,
North Carolina, which is just north of the Broad River area.
(07:51):
You can take Route nine into the Broad River in
the back cave, into Chimney Rock and then into Lake Lore.
While I'm in Black Mountain coming to you live and
i will tell you we are one day away from
the one year anniversary of Hurricane Queen.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And what is going on right now?
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Well, I've had to move inside my car because it
is an absolute torrential downpour. It is absolutely pouring. The
skies are pitch black, and you know, look, it is
really raining hard, really really raining hard. And it almost
seems fitting or apropos because it is raining hard considering
(08:26):
what happened exactly three hundred and fifty four days ago. Okay,
so earlier this afternoon I went by Bou Rising's house.
Bou Rising is the man, the fine gentleman and his
family that welcomed me into their home and their hearts
last year by letting me do my live two hour
show from the front yard. And they had all these people,
remember forty fifty people showed up, including Miss Ruby, the
(08:49):
ninety two year old that walked about a third of
a mile to be with us. And again, this was
a special man who let me do a lot of
things in terms of my shows and interviewing people from
his front yard. And I saw him kick other media
outlets out well. I was able to catch up with
him earlier today sitting on his front porch reminiscing about
a year ago. And then everything that's happened over the
(09:10):
last twelve months, Bow Rising.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I did my show from.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Your front yard last year October, in the middle of October.
It was the first night that temperatures had gotten below
forty degrees and half the people that were still here
of the fifty people still didn't have electricity. You had
just gotten your electricity that day or the day before.
So now here we are twelve months later. What has
the last twelve months been? Like?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Have people forgotten about you? People still coming around? Like?
What have the last twelve months been like?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
The last twelve months have went really slow. Ever since
springtime come and the leaves started coming out and the
grass started coming out and hiding everything, It's like, okay,
everything's all right. But it really isn't all right, and
have slowed down, and the help there's there's not much help,
(10:07):
and we're just doing the best we can and we're
just taking one day at a time and trying to
work and clean up. And it's very depressing, to tell
you the truth.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
So but.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I keep battling and trying to clean up around here.
And I've got the front yard straightened up, and it
looks like some civilizations back around here. And we did
have the river crew showed up and they cleaned the
river and they've done an excellent job. There was about
twelve of them guys, and they were from up around Minnesota,
(10:49):
and they brought big, old equipment and they went in
and out of the river cleaning up and doing all
the debris work. And they've really done a good job.
But they're still working on the roads. They're in terrible
shape that it seems like there's just not enough help
(11:10):
to do anything. And I also lost I have a
forty head of cattle, and I also lost forty acres
of my hay fields. And I've went through the state
filling out all kinds of applications and stuff, and it's
been a slow process that don't seem like there's much
(11:32):
help out there to help.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Us and stuff, and we're.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
You know, they estimated one of my fields would cost
sixty thousand dollars just to redo it, and I don't
have that kind of income to do nothing. So I've
lost all them fields. And I'm still trying to depend
on people to bring me a little bit of hair
or I'm trying to buy hay also too, so I'm
(12:00):
kind of in a pickle at that situation too.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I remember, you know, your niece, her up in the
backyard or the backside of our house just completely vanished,
including the bedroom of her daughter. And I remember speaking
of them and going into the house last year and
getting a tour of it.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
How are they doing right now?
Speaker 4 (12:17):
They're going day by day and they've had.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
A hard time.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They've they're in their third rental house and the only
good thing is that they're right down on going down
the road here. We got a few more acres down
the road and she's trying to rebuild her a new
house and they've started on that just a couple of
months ago, and it's a slow process. And as you know,
(12:42):
money doesn't grow on trees, and it's just overwhelming to
everybody what's happened.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So let's go to the roads.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're not the only person to tell me that the
roads situation is here is still pretty bad. Like we're
on Route nine, which is the major road in this
area between Back Cave and Black Mountain stuff, but yet
there's still single lanes and here we are a year later.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Or have you spoken to people on why it's been
so slow trying to rebuild these roads.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
My theory on the road situation is we've got like
four different spots that they've been working on, but I
just don't believe we've got the labor force to work
on it. There's two thirds at a time, there's nobody
even there working and the progress has just been slow.
(13:32):
These companies there from out of town, and I believe
they get a contract on it and just get their
hands into it and start getting the money. And nobody's
out here overseeing what's being done. And it's a shame
because we've got red lights that we've got to stop
and sit at. And this has been going on for
(13:54):
eight months and it just gets old to see nobody
out there working on our on our state, state roads
and stuff, and I just, you know, I don't know
why the state can't get no help. There's got to
be some companies out of state that will come in
here with people and help us out to get away
(14:16):
from this situation. We've we've had several weeks of rain
and there's been different slides still, and there's also trees
still sliding off every now and then, and our power
there'll be a tree fall at least once a week,
and our power will be off anywhere from two to
(14:38):
seven hours. And it's nobody's fault, it's just nature. But
the ground is still sopping wet, and across from where
I live there we had another slide over there again
and we had ten trees slide down off the side
of the mountain. And it's not over and it's not done.
And so that's that's the situation where still in.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Last year, you had in your front yard, which is
what made me stop and talk to you in the
very first place. I kept calling it like a convenience store.
You had baking powder and baking so the things you
would never think were out.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
There were out there. How long did you keep that
out there?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
We were open for approximately like a month, and I
want to also say I want to thank all the
people from around the United States, the individuals that come
out and helped us and gave us supplies gas pro
pain food, and we.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Passed it out to everybody.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
In our community and it really went a long ways,
and I sure do appreciate it, and the community does too.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
So the second part of my interview with bow Rising
will be coming up shortly, and you can tell there
are a couple of times where he gets emotional. You know,
he's in his seventies and you know, look, he's a
super nice, generous man, and he was worried about the
community and he's lived in that area, in that house
since like since the early nineteen seventies, and just again
(16:07):
a special human being. And I was again fortunate enough
to be able to, you know, befriend him and talk
to him and everything else.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
And so again it's.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Been it was a difficult day coming back and going
to all the places that I went to a year
ago to see that while some has changed, not enough
has changed. So when we return, you'll hear more of
my interview with bow Rising, and it does get a
little bit of emotional for him. And then also coming
up shortly, You're going to have my interviews with a
member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department and how
(16:38):
things have been going on with them over the last year,
and the fact that somebody roads is still damaged. How
difficult does that make it to actually be a fireman.
So all that coming up when we return, But right now,
let's ring on over to the WBT newsroom with Anna Erickson.
Welcome back to the breaking of Brett Jensen's show here
on this Friday night, coming to you live from Black Mountain,
North Carolina, in the middle of a very hard rainstorm,
(17:00):
exactly three hundred and fifty four days to the day
when Hurricane Helene came through the mountains and just ravaged
so much of western North Carolina. I believe it was
twenty five counties that were under a state of emergency.
In twenty five counties, that's exactly twenty five percent of
North Carolina, because there are one hundred counties in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So we're gonna continue my interview with bow Rising. Now.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Bo is the gentleman that allowed me to use his
front yard last year when we did the town hall,
the two hour live show from the Broad River area
of North Carolina right there on Route nine heading south
from Black Mountain into bat Cave. And as you know,
bat Cave, Chimney Rock, Lake Lore, and this area, the
Broad River area were completely devastated by the hurricane. Mud
(17:48):
slides and flooding and everything else. So we're going to
continue my interview with bow Rising to check in with
him one year later to see how things have been going.
And again he got a little emotional in the first part.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
He gets emotional in the second part as well. Are
you surprised that it's taking this long or did you know?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I mean, obviously you were here every day and you
saw the destruction and you lived through the destruction when
it was happening. But are you surprised it's still taking
this long because people who don't live here, I think
it just surprises us that it's still in pretty bad shape.
In a lot of areas, it does surprise me. And
I know we've had a disaster which nobody has never
(18:27):
been through like this, and it's just heartbreaking. And to
go down the road I lived just six miles from
back Cave, and it looks like the day the storm hit.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
One year later, it is so depressed and the.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Roads of Torah potholes all over, and to me, it
takes you forty minutes longer to go to town and where
the roads are in such terrible shape, truck is going
to be a piece of junk by the time they
get the roads fixed. So I'll everybody around here need
(19:05):
a new vehicle, you know, and the stuff you just
don't think about.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So I'm talking to you one day before the one
year anniversary. Tomorrow's the one year anniversary is Saturday. I
know the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department they're having a
big thing together and they're opening up the new community
center and everything else like that, Are you going to
do anything or are you going to just stay by
yourself with your family? Are you going to you know what,
I'm just gonna drink a beer or I'm gonna make
(19:32):
a cookout, Like like, what will you do if anything
on the one year anniversary of the moment your life changed?
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Well, in one sense, it's very depressing. Right now, I'm single,
and as Brett sits out here with me, it is
very quiet, and tomorrow is almost like another day. But
I will go down to the fire department in the
community center and see the community people and uh, you know,
(20:04):
and we'll and we'll cry. I'm crying now, and it
just it's just hard. And I'm retired. I don't need
to go to town and I'm around here all the
time and I've lived here sixty years. But I'm going
down there to see my neighbors and and we'll celebrate.
(20:26):
I call it the Hell of herlen Helene, but they
can call it whatever they want, but it's not a party.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Well, both, seriously, thank you for letting me join you
again today.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I really do appreciate this, and also things for last year.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
This was like a little hub and I really enjoyed it.
But it was a bad situation. But I knew I
could help people and it made me feel good.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
But we are in a devastated areas as it is
is right now.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
But I know there's stuff that needs to be done,
but it's hard to reach to people and have it done.
And like me, I'm coming up on seventy years old
and I want to do stuff, but I just physically
can't do it. And you can't find no help to
help you anymore like it used to be. It's just
(21:24):
it's just tough and it's like This morning, I was
helping a neighbor of mine putting some steel posts and
mixing concrete, and I felt like he's ninety years old
and I'm almost seventy, and we're out here busting our
butts and we don't have no young people to help us.
And I've got work down there my river, and it
(21:48):
just makes me sick to look at it. But I'm
physically not able, and I'm just an average person. I'm
not wealthy. We're not suited for the hurricane, for what
damage it has done to all the people around and
people that have lost property. And if you ever know
(22:09):
what landlocked means, come out and have a river and
your bridge be gone, and your properties on the other
side of that river and you don't have no bridge,
you will find out.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
What landlocked means.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
And there's three bridges within an eighthro mi all of
my house that are gone, and these people are still
having a hard time trying to get a bridge put in.
And it's just a bad situation. And you know, we're
not wealthy people, you know, if they want like a
quarter of a million dollars to put a bridge in,
and everybody's having a hard.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Time, so that is bud rising.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
And again I'm coming to you from my car because
when I say it is like a torrential downpour, it
is a torrential downpour. Like you can hear it as
I'm coming to your life, Like listen to this, like
I'm not joking, Like that's the rain hitting the roof
because it is raining so hard right now. And I
(23:09):
plan on going to the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department
there it's a celebration, but a commemoration like the grand
reopening of their community center which got completely destroyed last year,
which sits right beside the Broad River Fire Volunteer Fire Department,
and so many things like you know, they lost engines
and they had all kinds of damage.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
And again it's.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
They invited me to be to take part of their
their gathering tomorrow. And again these are people that are
just extremely nice and they're happy and grateful that anyone
is still shining a light on them. And as somebody
was telling me earlier today, you know, look, they were here,
everyone was here, and then they just sort of forgot
(23:51):
about us, you know, after a few months, and it
was sort of like.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Nine to eleven.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Everyone was together for nine to eleven and then you know, five, six,
seven months down the road, everyone went back to the
norm of lives and that's exactly what happened here. But
they still don't have a normal light. Everything is still
like the roads and everything. And they're talking. You heard
bo talk about the power. How the power constantly goes
out because trees are still sliding down the side of
(24:15):
mountains taking out power lines and whatnot or damaging or
like blocking roadways and stuff, and so they have to
wait until that happens.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
So it's just things are still not very good up here.
But what about the first responders? The roads?
Speaker 1 (24:31):
The roads are still single lane, and not all of them,
but some of them. Some of the roads are still out.
The bridges are.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Still out in some places.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
So how is it being a first responder trying to
get to these people when so many of the roads
are still damaged. So we're going to talk to a
member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department when we return.
My name is Brett Jensen, coming to you live from
Black Mountain. Now let's swing on over to the WT
Traffic Center. Welcome back to Breaking with Brett Jensen. As
(24:59):
I I come to you live from Black Mountain, North Carolina,
where an absolute downpour is in the midst of happening
as I'm coming to you from my car actually in
a parking lot at an abandoned grocery store that has
been not in use for many years, way before Hurricane Helen,
so earlier today when the weather was still good, and
(25:21):
I made my way from Lake Lore through Chimney Rock,
got to go behind the closed roads into bat Cave
and then up Route nine Route nine up and towards
the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department, and I went to
the same place I went a year ago and talked
to some of the people there, and Richard was one
of the volunteer firemen who couldn't have been nicer, and
so I was able to ask him a couple of
(25:43):
questions on what's it like trying to be a first
responder over the last three hundred and sixty four days.
Sir Richard, you've been with the Broad River Volunteer Fire
Department for fifteen years now, how would you classify the
last twelve months?
Speaker 6 (26:00):
My opinion, the community out here, it's never been bad,
so to speak, but just from what I've gathered in
the last last twelve months after Helene, it's actually got
better with our neighbors and our community Broad River.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
What do you mean better? What do you mean by that?
Speaker 6 (26:16):
More of the old fashioned, true back back home country
of you know, neighbors speaking to each other, you know,
stopping asking if they need help, somebody seeing somebody that
you know needs firewood or whatever. Hey, I've got a
lott of firewood. It's yours people bringing in bringing in
(26:37):
lunch for their needy neighbors, or even us down here.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
At fire department. A lot of times are there still
needy people up here?
Speaker 6 (26:44):
There There are plenty of needs in the in the
county itself, and even in the western part of the state.
I don't think that a lot of them is getting
addressed like the way they should.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Okay, so you guys are volunteer firemen, and you guys
have to go around all the back roads and everything
else trying to get to houses in case there's something
going on.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It's not just fires.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
There's always a lot of things in terms of medic
or whatever. So how has the last twelve months been
trying to perform your duties with so many of the
roads still under construction or trying to be rebuilt.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
The roads most anybody, anybody around here, you will ask
the roads are horrible. It's almost like the work stopped
on them. Well, we you know it normally would take
us ten fifteen minutes to get from here to Black
Mountain to go on a fire mutual ad with them.
Now it's taking us, you know, over just twenty five
(27:43):
to thirty minutes, just because of one lane, roads, traffic lights,
equipment in a way, having to wait on somebody to
clear his path, whatever.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Has it.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Have you do you recall anything over the last twelve
months where there was a major emergency and it was
taking you much longer to get there just because of
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Being up here.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
I can't say yes or no up here because I
work part time here, so I'm not here on a
regular basis. But in other areas, I know that there
are places that they've had to go around a different
road and it's took an extra twenty thirty minutes to
get somewhere where they needed to be, or start somebody
from another side to get to it.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
So I remember it being here.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
A year ago, you guys had lost a truck completely
totaled because of the floodwaters and everything else. But you've
also had other fire departments reach out and help you.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Can you talk about that?
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Of course I let the chief talk more about that,
but because you know, it's more of the legal stuff.
But we did get a brush truck donation from the
City of Charlotte Fire Department replaced the truck that did
get totaled at least into it can be replaced. We've
got a couple of ATVs that was replaced through some
(29:09):
of the local organization's Hearts with Hands and Salvation Army
and places like that, or some Americans first excuse me,
we had an engine about a months two months after
the storm that we had a contact that just happened
to show us a picture of a truck and said, hey,
would you guys be in need of this truck? And
(29:30):
it turned out we was in in need of it
and was able to get a fairly newer model bumper
that could replace another engine that had had got some
damage in the storm as well.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
And that one did that one come from New York?
Is that the one that came from New York?
Speaker 6 (29:45):
It came from a small department outside of on the
outskirts of New York. I want to say it was
Margaretville or something of that nature. I don't know what
part of I think they said it was upstate New York.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
So Tomorrowmorrow being Saturday, the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helen,
you guys, well, it's not necessarily a celebration, but I
mean it's a commemoration.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You guys are acknowledging the day.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
But you guys also have a big thing going out
here tomorrow with the community center that was completely wiped out.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Again. I'll I'll let Chief Pinter speak on that. He's
put most of the leg work in all that stuff.
But the community center a year ago had just been
recently remodeled from issue that happened during the winter prior
to Helene. And then of course when the storm came
(30:40):
through and it it did, like you said, wiped everything
pretty much out of it and had to start back
from scratch. And as I have a week ago or
about a week ago, officially ready to go off and
go out and show the community again welcome back.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Is there anything that you want the people back in
Charlotte or Shelby or Hickory or Lincolnton that are listening
to this, Is there anything that you want them to know.
Speaker 6 (31:06):
Huh, well, I've heard I've heard a couple of other
people say it, you know, during the storm, during the
initial aftermath of it, is don't forget the mountains. I mean,
it kind of seems like, you know, just like nine
to eleven, it's everybody was, you know, support the mountains
for six eight months, and then here we are a
(31:29):
year later, and it's kind of like everybody's starting to
forget about it. And they're good, they're they're back on
their feet, but there's a lot of areas that still
do need help.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Richard, I appreciate time today by it not a problem.
So that is Richard.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
He's a member of the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department.
He's been there for fifteen years as a volunteer fireman.
And earlier today they were able to like they drove it.
They offered and the police chief brtent Hayner like could
not be nicer and extremely accommodating, and they offered to
take me places that I may have not seen previously
and went like, you know, up the side of a
(32:04):
mountain a little bit to take me some places there
as well, and where trailer park were like a trailer
not a trailer park, but a trailer was basically washed
into the river. And I'll have all kinds of photos
on my social media's about that. They were just super
super kind. Even fed me a barbecue sandwich on lunch today,
Like that's how generous these people are. It's absolutely ridiculous,
(32:25):
and a lot of people could learn a lot of
things from the people up here in the mountains between
you know, between Bow Rising and Andy Creaseman, and then
obviously the people over there at the Volunteer Fire Department.
It just just genuinely very nice, wholesome people and I
could not thank them more for them allow me to
be part of their community and disrupt their lives to
(32:47):
come in and talk to them about what happened a
year ago, and hopefully providing that the weather holds off,
because it is completely pouring right now, I will be
going back by the Broad River Volunteer Fire Department as
they commemorate or celebrate the reopening of their community center
which was destroyed last year, as well as they marked
the one year anniversary when all their lives got turned
upside down.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
So that's going to do it for me tonight.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Everyone, And again thanks to Isaac and everyone back in
the studio for making this possible.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
And again thanks to all the people.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Up here in the Broad River area as well as
the town manager over there in Lake lore So. Coming
to you from a very very rainy, rainy and stormy
Black Mountain. My name is Brett Jensen, and you have
been listening to Breaking with Brett Jensen
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